Marathon & Beyond.

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Marathon & Beyond.

Things change. Allow me to take you back in time to 1997.

Most of you already know the story, but to recap, I had to deal with a harsh reality back in May of that year. Three herniated discs caused my running to come to an abrupt halt. The pain was utterly immobilizing and my life suddenly ceased to be what it had been. I went into denial about the seriousness of the injury and still showed up for a few races at first although I could not physically bend over to tie my shoes! Looking back I can now see how foolish that was. At the time I though I could 'tough it out' and I mistakenly assumed I would get better without surgical intervention. I was wrong.

My never-say-quit nature did serve me well in one area with regard to what type of surgery I should have. The first neurosurgeon informed me that I would need to have my spine fused and have metal hardware installed. He also informed me that after that was done I would never be able to run again. This is something no runner ever wants to hear! I decided to research other options and finally found a less invasive surgical procedure with a good success rate. It required me to travel to another state, but the trip was well worth it because of the hope that I would be able to run again after the surgery and rehab.

I was injured in May of 1997, and I had surgery in November of that year. By May of 1998 I thought I was ready to resume running. Let me tell you - it was tough going. After 12 months off from running and a substantial weight gain during that time, all the conditioning that years of training had built up was gone. I was back to ground zero. I wasn't ready for the effort that was required - I found myself having a great deal of trouble focusing on the rehabilitation I needed to get back to competitive running. After a few weeks of effort, I gave up serious training and just ran a few times a week sporadically, if at all.

I needed a goal. Preferably one I had never accomplished before. After

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